SES Spar European Shopping Centers, the initiator of the yip.at customer and retailer platform, is committed to strengthening brick-and-mortar businesses in Austria via this digital initiative. The search for the most innovative business ideas in the country has recently seen its second round. Following last year’s debut, yip.at once again honored the most successfully implemented business ideas in the brick-and-mortar retail sector by means of its business sponsorship program at the end of June. Three outstanding winning entries received a total of 10,000 euros in funding: “Wohnkram” from the City of Salzburg, “Resis kleine Freuden” from Zell am See and “EDDI Bike Fahrrad-Abo”, which operates in Vienna and Graz. Applications for the next round of yip.at business sponsorships can be submitted as early as September 2022.

“The high number of creative concepts submitted last year prompted us to offer the yip.at business sponsorships once again this year. Doing so enables us to support entrepreneurial ideas in the brick-and-mortar retail sector and to give such businesses in Austria a boost,” says Christoph Andexlinger, COO of SES.

The expert jury, which included representatives from the service sector, social media, retail real estate, and the Junge Wirtschaft Österreich (Young Economy of Austria), selected three outstanding winning businesses, along with the yip.at community, which was able to vote online.

The Winning Companies of the 2022 yip.at Business Sponsorship Are:

1st Place: Wohnkram, Salzburg
First-place winner Wohnkram, a sustainable furniture and home accessories store in the city of Salzburg, has a 5,000-euro prize to look forward to. Founder Angelika Thalhammer started the business 12 years ago on an area covering 30 m²; she now offers unique home items and vintage furniture on a sales area of 100 m², which she scouts out in advance in a wide variety of ways and to which she then lovingly adds that certain special touch. The one-of-a-kind pieces only remain part of the store’s interior decoration for a short time, until other people discover them for themselves and give them a new home. The success of Wohnkram can be attributed to the high quality of the products, sustainable production, and, above all, individuality. “We select our products with the utmost care and, wherever possible, we strive to place more and more emphasis on small labels that manufacture their products in Europe,” Angelika Thalhammer reveals. Examples of such brands include France-based Mainsauvage, Sweden-based Midnatt, Split-based Terraceramica, Germany-based Sansan, and Vöcklabruck-based Käferkäramik. Customers should feel comfortable when browsing around the store and should be able to discover the products without feeling stressed. That will also be reflected in the next project: “A coffee bar for our customers is also on our must-have list,” says Angelika Thalhammer.

2nd Place: Resis kleine Freuden, Zell am See
The Pinzgau Family Concept Store “Resis kleine Freuden” (“Resi’s Little Joys”) was awarded 3,000 euros in sponsorship funding. The second branch of the "Resis" concept store for gifts, lifestyle, and interior design has been open since last summer. This year, the 40-square-meter store was completely redesigned and reopened by owner Samantha Theresa Plat. Since then, the store has been synonymous with fostering a sustainable family lifestyle. Every product is lovingly selected on the basis of criteria such as sustainability, regionality, and fair production. The range includes small family-owned business brands that develop products that they themselves believe in. For example, “Resis kleine Freuden” offers Swiss stone pine baby beds from St. Pölten, wooden toys from Kuchl, and pacifier chains from Zell am See. In addition, the entrepreneur is working with various institutions in order to be able to offer attractive events for children and families in the future, such as the upcoming bookworms meeting for children up to six years of age, which will be held in cooperation with Mama-Treffpunkt Saalfelden.

3rd Place: EDDI Bike Fahrrad-Abo, Vienna and Graz
EDDI Bike received a business sponsorship award in the amount of 2,000 euros for its all-inclusive bicycle subscription idea, which rethinks the use of bicycles in a completely new and uncomplicated way. The company, led by Stephan Ziegler and Philipp Eder,is committed to making the switch to bicycles as easy as possible and to making cities more livable in the future through sustainable mobility. At its two locations in Vienna and Graz, EDDI Bike offers users well-maintained bicycles in four different sizes as part of a monthly subscription – ready for pick-up on site or delivered directly to their doorsteps. Subscribers do not need to worry about high purchase costs or maintenance.

More information on the winning companies can be found at: www.yip.at/blog/yip-at-business-forderung-2022

The yip.at Business Sponsorship
SES Spar European Shopping Centers, as the parent company of the EUROPARK Salzburg, MURPARK Graz, and HUMA ELEVEN Vienna shopping centers as well as15 other shopping destinations in Austria, created the yip.at initiative. The online platform makes brick-and-mortar retail, gastronomy, service, and craft businesses in Austria digitally visible to customers, thereby specifically supporting locally and regionally active companies. All brick-and-mortar companies registered on yip.at – regardless of location, company size, or industry – were eligible to submit entries for business sponsorship funding. Over the course of a two-stage process, the independent jury of experts selected the three best ideas from a large number of submissions and awarded a total of 10,000 euros in prize money. The yip.at community was also able to vote via social media. The winning concepts were those that were innovative, unique, and sustainable – and that featured a special connection to the respective region.